Aunts and Butlers

Aunts and Butlers is an enjoyable (and humorous) interactive fiction game by Robin Johnson. Playable in any Javascript-enabled web browser, you play the role of the Honourable Ampersand Fodge on a quest to... well... not die poor. Good thing rich, old and unmarried Aunt Cedilla is stopping by for tea!

Teacups are used to serve tea in, and tea would go down rather well with Aunt Cecilia. But water alone will not pass for tea. Perhaps you can add something to it.

Some sort of powdery sunstance that can pass for tea.

Aunt Cecilia has not left you her money yet, but she has given you something else. Her suitcase.

Search inside and see what you can find.

Still stuck? Perhaps you should resort to some property damage.

In other words, smash the urn you found inside Aunt Cecilia's suitcase. Take the (dog) ashes that were found inside, and add them to the water so that it looks tea-coloured. Congratulations! You are about to serve Aunt Cecilia the remains of her dog!

take cup, bring it into the room with leaky pipes, fill with water (dirty), mix with ash, which you get by opening the suitcase and breaking the urn, and there you have tea. Give that to Aunt C, and then go to the train station to get cousin. I got cousin, but he ran off, now I'm stuck.

I've noticed a lot of people are getting hung in about the same spot: in the house with a bunch of items. Read the spoilers for some hints!

Did you give Aunt Cedilla the tea yet?

If not, mix water with ash from the broken urn and give that to her.

After giving Cedilla the tea...

She mentions your cousin. Go south to the train station and wait there for him. When he arrives, make sure you talk to him about his gun, he'll give you an important clue. Try taking it, too. Also, ask him about America, England and Cedilla.

Got the gun, lost the cousin and can't figure out what to do?

Head to the sheriff's place and poke around in there. You should find a hat. Examine it for a vital clue. Remember: the game hinted that you wanted to kill Cedilla. ;-)

Take the hat and put it on Cedilla's head, then wait for your cousin to appear...

And as for the trunk, don't worry about it until much later in the game.

I have no idea what do do with all this love-letter/will business. Kaykee has said that I have to "just take the will and put the letter in its place". This however, has not worked. The letter is there and the will is in my pocket, but what else must I do for something to happen? Please help!

I am wearing a stovepipe, a tie, a jerkin, a pair of cufflinks, a flower, a handkerchief, and a pair of gloves. Where are the other two items? I feel like I've looked everywhere. I can't find any doughnuts for the engineer, either.

there are eight rooms in the trunk, but one of them is just the entrance (stairs). I believe I have all six items from other rooms, plus the tailcoat (I am "dressed to the sevens")....I'm sure I have to get something from the knight...

You don't actually need to ALTER the punctuation or anything written on the letter. Perhaps you could abridge it, though.

Try reading the love letter slowly.

"Ampersand, I'm leaving you. Everything". Hey, that sounds all right!

So you need to cut the letter in half. Unfortunately, you can't do it.

But maybe there's somebody who can.

What other document are you carrying? Read it.

Perhaps you should be honest and pay the police a visit about that IOU of yours.

Give officer Plank the IOU and see what happens.

He rips it in half and eats it. So, give him the love letter. He will rip it in half, conveniently exactly where you want, and eat only one half, leaving you with the other. Take it, go to Aunt Cecilia's house, take the real will, and drop the love letter to take its place. Then return home to meet your Aunt's solicitor and win the game!

seashell:

So Fatty eats the haggis, while standing on the mysterious black circle on the floor? How convenient and interesting...

And there's a big bright red button nearby, you say? Fascinating...

What else? Push the button. The teleporter on the floor will activate and Scotty, I mean Fatty, will be beamed away...

Leaving you free to get your grubby little hands on that rather fetching collar.

Since it doubles as a vital spaceship part, however, it might be a good idea to leave this place immediately.

Keep in mind that there are two sub-rooms to the northwest, that is Commander Fatty's room and the room with the typewriter guy. Each one of those has a piece of clothing. As for the knight, well he's not very clever. Try waiting around and see what happens to him. Maybe you've got a way to help him out.

slackjob

Since you have the same problem I did, I suggest looking at rush's earlier hint to me.

seashell

You're not trying to appease Fatty. Instead, try to figure out a way to get rid of him. Maybe if you place the haggis on a certain conspicuous object in the room and then do something else, he'd just... dissapear.

I'm stuck on the "dressed to the nines" part.
I have the items from the north(both of them), the south, the east, the southeast, and the northeast, and the tailcoat.
What do I do for the west(saloon)(I spat in the spitoon but there is no clothing) and the southwest (the mill) (I have no idea where the poodle is).

Hats off to this excellent diversion. As an experienced long-time text adventurer, I must admit that there was a spot where I was a little stuck.

Waking the cowboy

The rest was straightforward and quite entertaining enjoyable. I'll likely download the code just to see what easter eggs i didn't find. Be sure to ask anyone you meet about the game's author. :-)
For anyone getting a little stuck, remember that everything in this style of game has a purpose, and when in doubt

Lovely! I do miss good ol' text adventure games, they're becoming so rare these days. This one is very witty, and not too difficult, and not much chance of getting stuck at unwinnable states (as far as I can see). Very nice.

actually it should be "wait" three times or "z" three times before the bell appears..."w w w" is confusing as it's..."w" is shorthand in IF for "west" not "wait"....just saying...come to think of it, it is kinda weird that "z" counts as a wait command...ahahaha

Somewhat enjoyable game. This game would've been more enjoyable if it wasn't confusing with random unnecessary elements and seemingly racist in parts. (How come the only Blacks that show up in the game are slaves or are described as wearing straw skirts?) Maybe I'm reading too much into those few parts but you've got to wonder why Johnson bothered....I think it was a little funny that the goal of this game was to kill an obnoxious relative just so you can become rich but I'm sure some people wouldn't agree.

WALKTHROUGH! Took me forever to do this! Hope you all apreciate this.
Start:

Walk around, don't go to the door/south. Pick up the servents tailcoat, teacup, iou, and letter. Wear the tailcoat.

Aunt at the door:

Come back and open the door. Aunty will give you a suitcase and demand a cup of tea, then go wait in the drawing room. Open the suitcase, take and break the urn, and get a peice of ash.

Making tea:

Go to the scullery. Say, "take water with teacup". You will now have a teacup full of dirty grey rainwater. Remember that ash you got? Put the ash in the teacup ("put ash in teacup"). It will look like tea now. Kinda.

Giving tea:

Come to the drawing room. Your "aunt" will be sitting there. Feel free to try commands like, "kick aunt" and "kiss aunt" (If you try to hit her though, you will lose. Say "undo" to get back."). Then give her the teacup. She will think this is tea. Take the cup when she is done. She will then tell you to go meet your cousin Virgule at the railway station.

Meeting cousion Virgule:

Go out the door (south of foyer). Keep going until you get to the front of the railway station. Say "in" to get in. Go south until you can't go south any more. Say "wait", and cousin Virgule will arive (brandishing a shotgun).

After meeting:

Leave the station, and head back, until cousin Virgule starts to complain about how he hasn't shot anything, and leaves. Explore the town if you want (don't go the "The North" though. If you do, make sure to say "SAVE" beforehand).

Police (love letter)

Make sure you go to the police station. Give Sergeant Plank the love-letter. He will mistake it for a IOU, rip it in half, and drop one half (eating the other). Take it. Don't leave yet - there is more.

Ugly hat:

Open the LOST PROPERTY box. Take the hat. If you try it on, the butler will warn you not to. THE BUTLER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! Don't wear it, or cousin Virgule will pop out of nowhere, mistaken you for a pheasent, and shoot you (and you will die).

Murder:

Come back to Aunt Cedilla after you visit the police station. She will think the hat you got is beautiful - so give it to her (awww!). Now, examine the room. Suddenly, your cousin with the shotgun will apear out of nowhere, mistake Aunty for a pheasent, and shoot her head... off. Examine the room again. Sergeant Plank will apear (as he heard the shot), and say you are under arrest. DO NOT TALK TO HIM. He will hang you if you do.

Escape bell:

Upon examining the room again, you will discover you have misteriously abtained a bell in your hand. Take the bell and ring it. The butler will come the rescue, blame himself for the crime, and say you were at a cricket match at the time. Phew!

Saving butler:

Come back to the police station [to save your butler!]. Go north to the "gaol" cell. The butler will inform you of northlander named Alf, and give you a carrier pidgeon, to guide you to him.

The North:

Go the "The North". The carrier pigeon will "direct" you safely through the alleys. Keep following it (it will say, "the pigeons orbit errs the the west/north/ect.), until you get the the Rag-and-Bone Yard - REMEMBER YOUR PATH! - where you will meet Alf the Northlander.

Taking Alf:

Take the haggis. Alf would like you to guide him back to the police station so he can help [the butler]. If you didn't remember the path, it basicly goes like this: North, east, then south (and south and south...) Go to the police station "gaol" cell. Alf will free the butler, slicing his chains, then they will both come back to the manor to bury your aunt.

Opening the trunk:

Head the the manor. Go into the servents quarters to open the trunk, and waste some time (examine the room) until Alf comes in. Tell Alf to say password (just type, "tell Alf to say password"). He will, with a country accent, and the lid will creak open, reavealing an iron staircase. Afterwords, Alf will run away (in fear).

ALL SERVENTS HALL CLOTHES:

Enter the staircase. The butler will join you. BIG STUFF HERE! Once you get something, wear all the stuff that is wearable. Continue south to the servents hall. Wander around (all directions) and take Shakespere's white gloves (south,south), take a knights lance and give it to him, and you will receive a hancercheif (you already HAVE it - no need to take it) (wearable)(SE,SE), push the embalmer into the sarcophagus, coninue east, and take the saphire cufflinks(east,east), pick the flower from the cavern floor (wearable) (ne,ne), spin the dial to raise the heat and take the typist's tie which is thrown on the ground north,nw), place the haggis on the black circle (teleportation circle) and press the red button to get rid of Fatty, then take the trilatinium-spolorex collar(inside the machine)(north,ne - quickly leave though, or the room will explode), open the window, then exit through the window and land on the roof, take hold of the stovepipe then fall back down to the servents hall (this is wearable!)(sw,sw), spit in the spittoon, which will wake up the sleeping cowboy, who will rush up the stairs to meet miss kitty- exit the tavern and the jerkin will be thrown out for you to take (ew..) (west,west,in). Put all this stuff on. You are now ready and fully dressed

Aunt's flat:

From the servents hall, go northwest, then west. Go into the building. Since you are "dressed to the nines", you can now go up the stairs, to Aunt's flat. You are so close now!

Poodle:

Take the bone, open the window. Remeber the mill? Throw the bone out the window! Gladstone the evil poodle will jump out the window, get hit by a train, leaving the last will and testimony unprotected (awwww).

Switching wills:

Grab that will! Drop your halve-of-a-loveletter on the ground. Leave the flat, until your butler will inform you that "Excuse me, sir," he says, handing you a visiting-card. "This gentleman is waiting for you in your drawing-room. It is apparently a matter of some great import.". Go back to the manor (nw,n,u,e,e, starting at servents hall), and to the drawing room!

ENDING:

If you win, it should now say... Drawing room
A pinstriped solicitor unfolds himself from the armchair as you enter.
"Mr. Fodge," says the solicitor. "I represent the estate of Miss Cedilla Fodge. We have located her will, and it would seem she has bequeathed her entire fortune to yourself. The money will be in your bank account tomorrow morning. Good day."
He prances out. The butler shimmers in, with a bottle of champagne on a silver salver.
"Congratulations, sir," he says. "You appear to have won. Refreshment?"
*** You are rich ***
You completed 100% of this adventure.
The butler rates you as an esteemed personage.

________________________________________________________
I do not understand why there have been so many - complications - with this game. Its really very simple. Take items, and flip with random commands. You can just make them up. Kiss, climb, hug, fight, spit, dance, yell, ect. There are alot, using just basic verbs. Tips: Saying, "place" or "leave" something op something wont work (place pinapple on dog/leave letter). This is one of the best and one of the easiest textual games i have ever played. I must admit though, the cowboy thing was a bit hard. I think that was only because i didn't know what a spittoon was. Wish everyone luck with this game!

Loved the game. Just a quick comment on the racially-oriented question above: I was worried by some of the descriptions myself at first. However, I noticed that one of the rushing servants was supposed to be Sherlock Holmes' landlady Mrs. Hudson; could some of the others be literary inside jokes as well?

Racist? FFS!
To think that somebody is worried about describing Alf as a dirty Northerner or a slave as "half naked" or whatever just shows that the style of humor is going right over their head! It's all about the toffs view of life!

Anyway, yes, many of the scrambling servants are literary in-jokes.

I laughed out loud when the first 'servant' I saw was Manuel!
We also have :Igor, with the, um, pickled cauliflowerMarvin, the sad metal person with a bucketAlfred!Mrs. Hudson (Sherlock Holmes' housekeeper)Man Friday (portrayed as a black savage because, um, his character IS a black savage, sheesh!)Kryten (I think, with the square head)Jeeves (I think "A valet in a bowler hat, carrying a pair of Etonian-coloured spats and a match")Columbia (maybe, that's the only "attractive housekeeper in a gold tailcoat" I've ever seen)
Not sure about:
"A bent, wiry manservant carrying a frying-pan"
"A skinny office-boy in shirtsleeves, carrying a stapler"
"A thin, stooped, middle-aged housekeeper, carrying a teapot and an enormous plate of sandwiches" (makes me think of the mad hatters tea party but maybe not)
"Some sort of hunched anthropomorphic duck, carrying a ketchup bottle" (WTF?)
"A short, elf-like creature"
"A fat butler, swigging surreptitiously from a bottle of cooking-sherry"
... Some of those may just be generic or invented, but probably just over my head.
... I kept looking for Bob Cratchett, but haven't seen him yet.

As to the game in general - yes, the cowboy was the most unintuitive part - and Why I had to come looking for a spoiler :( . I also missed the key item hidden in the starship description. The rest was absolutely fantastically paced however!

"Some sort of hunched anthropomorphic duck, carrying a ketchup bottle" is (and i'm for certain, because there aren't that many hunchd anthromorphic birds out that carying catsup bottle.) (from Wikipedia)

Igor, from a TV cartoon about a vegetarian vampire duck named Count Duckula, who is vegetarian because Igor gave him katsup instead of blood for his reincarnation. Igor is a hunched balding vulture, and Druckula's servent.

I think i'm going to figure out some more tomorrow or maybe sometime later.

Lastly, i'd like to say i'm sorry (after re-reading what I wrote) for what I wrote at the end of my walkthrough. O: Musta been in a bad mood.

I am in the Servent's Hall and did not pick up the haggis when first collecting Alf. I tried to go back to the North but there is only death when I follow the same path. Or, I must have taken a wrong turn. Can anyone help me get the haggis?

You don't have to remember your path. Alph will save you from anything that tries to attack you. And I don't know how you'll get the haggis - just keep Undo-ing, I suppose. Otherwise, I dont' think there's a way... maybe ask the butler? Dunno.

I tried googling some of the other ones, but I can't figure it out. Aw well.+

This game was pretty easy for me. I thought it was a little too whimsical, especially without much explanation - for example, there is travel with the "falling backwards" (it's why the poodle is still there)... I had some trouble with opening the trunk, the starship and the love letter (and used the walkthrough), but I found the cowboy, and the other parts, very easy.

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